McLaren driver Oscar Piastri (Australia) secured pole position for the final sprint of the Formula 1 season on Friday evening and narrowly beat his rivals to world championship leader Lando Norris (England/McLaren).
For world champion Max Verstappen (Netherlands), however, the first showdown in Qatar was disappointing; the Red Bull driver only achieved sixth place in the sprint on Saturday (3 p.m./live ticker at sportschau.de).
Verstappen and Hamilton curse
“It was a very good day, I had a few mistakes in the round. It’s all the better that I can say that and still be at the forefront. It’s only the pole for the sprint, but there are some points to be gained there too“, said Piastri, who, like Verstappen, is 24 points behind his teammate Norris in the World Cup. McLaren boss Zak Brown emphasized: “Oscar is back.”
Norris, who secured his first world title in Qatar, came third behind the strong Englishman George Russell in the Mercedes. Verstappen, on the other hand, cursed the car and was even beaten by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who finished fifth.
Dissatisfied with his qualifying: Max Verstappen
Record world champion Lewis Hamilton experienced another disaster. The 40-year-old only finished 18th in the Ferrari, meaning he was eliminated in the first part. “Oh man, the car just doesn’t go any faster” he radioed in frustration. Nico Hülkenberg (Emmerich/Sauber) took 14th place on the grid.